Photography

Prison Landscapes by Alyse Emdur

February 15, 2014

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Alyse Endur’s book Prison Landscapes is a large photographic compilation of prison inmates presenting themselves in front of visiting room backdrops. Glittering cityscapes, scenes of natural landscapes, historical or fantasy architecture and more are often painted by inmates and used as portrait studios. Initially Endur was denied access to photograph in the prisons compelling her to seek out prisoners using pen-pal sites and asking inmates to send pictures of themselves posed in front of their prison’s backdrops. In the summer of 2011, Endur was successful at gaining clearance to photograph inside of several prisons. Hundreds of photos were eventually used to create Prison Landscapes, which was published last year. Emdur currently has photographs on display at the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery in Haverford, Pa, for the exhibition Prison Obscura.

See additional work from Alyse Emdur at her website and buy her book here